I Think That Possibly Maybe I'm Falling for You
by PrincessBellePrinceAdam
Summary: "You didn't complain to Scott about him, so basically he's in love with you," Marie said. /Coffee shop AU. Kitty, new to Westchester, meets Bobby at the coffee shop near her school.
1. August September

.

_A/N: Um…so I was under the impression that Westchester was a city and not a county. The way characters talk about things being "in Westchester" made me assume it was. (No one talks about counties like that, at least not where I'm from) Guess that's what I get for trying to let comic book movies educate me. For the purposes of this, it's the City and County of Westchester because I said so. Also we're going with the Taylor Kitsch version of Remy. I tried to make things more accurate too, like Remy's accent and Piotr being from Russia, etc._

_Some other notes: As far as I know I came up with _Wake Up!_ as the coffee shop name. (I think we've established I'm bad at naming things.) But the mention of Roberto making drinks too hot was a suggestion from Cee, so thanks for that. Title comes from _Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop_ by Landon Pigg because nothing better came to me._

**I Think That Possibly Maybe I'm Falling for You**

_August/September_

Kitty Pryde strode down a busy street in Westchester feeling confident and excited. She was new in town, here for an internship under one Professor Charles Xavier. She was still a little surprised that out of everyone who applied that she'd been chosen, but her application _had _been a good one. With all of the excellent points she'd made in her essay and the glowing letters of recommendation from her professors at her previous college, she was the perfect fit. Professor Xavier had told her so himself.

With her parents in the middle of a messy divorce back in Illinois and her being pulled into the middle of it, Kitty had jumped at the chance to move to New York.

She'd gotten up early enough to make her bed and get dressed in the outfit she'd spent nearly an hour picking out the night before. Normally she wouldn't have bothered dressing up, but she had her first official meeting with the professor after her last class. Kitty was a firm believer in putting her best foot forward, and the right wardrobe was an important part of that.

Her mother had given her the old family car to take with her, but as usual Kitty didn't see much use for it. She'd applied for a New York state license, of course, and all the other paperwork that went along with it, but Kitty generally preferred walking. The apartment she'd found was within walking distance of the university and she thought walking over driving would be a good way to get to know the area. On her practice run from her new home to the school, she'd seen what looked like a cozy little coffee shop called Wake Up! She was headed there now.

Kitty pushed the door open and breathed in deeply. The scents of different coffees and pastries mixed together in a pleasant aroma. The inside of the shop definitely had a homey feel to it as well. The lights were dim now because it was morning and bright out, but she could see lots of fixtures scattered throughout that would no doubt be lit later on. The overstuffed black leather couches and armchairs looked so comfortable that Kitty could picture herself sinking into them and never wanting to get up. Music played from speakers overhead, but not at an obnoxiously loud volume. There was a nice collection of artwork on the walls. Some were reproductions of famous paintings, while others were clearly done by local artists.

Another point in favor of the café was that it didn't seem too busy. Though it had to be on the way to work or school for a lot of people, there wasn't a huge crowd. Kitty could see herself here, studying and working. If their coffee was decent, the brunette was sure she'd found her new home away from home.

A girl about her own age stood behind the counter. She had long dark hair with one wide streak that had been dyed white. The neon green letters on her nametag said _Marie_. "What can I get you?" she asked. Her voice had a very slight Southern accent.

"Just a large plain coffee," Kitty replied. "To go."

"You are my favorite kind of customer," Marie said as she grabbed a paper cup and a black Sharpie and scribbled the order on it. "People are so _picky_, I swear. It's just coffee. What's your name?"

Kitty hesitated for a moment. This was a new place and she was on her own for the first time. "Katherine," she answered. As silly as it was, Kitty felt a little more grown up using her full name.

"Alright," the barista said as she capped the marker, "that's $2.75."

Kitty fished a five dollar bill from her wallet. When Marie gave her the change, Kitty, remembering the other girl's declaration, dropped it all into the tip jar.

Kitty moved along down the counter to wait for her drink. She saw Marie hand the paper cup to a coworker with sandy hair before turning her attention to another customer. The brunette slid her phone out of her pocket for the wait.

It wasn't too long before her name was called. Kitty looked up from her phone, a "thank you" on her lips, but the guy had already turned away. She picked up her drink and frowned. The cup definitely should have been hot but it wasn't. She popped the lid off to investigate further. Sure enough, a number of ice cubes bobbed in the beverage.

She was definitely annoyed now. Kitty huffed and cleared her throat. "Excuse me," she said loudly. The worker turned around.

"Yes?"

She was caught off guard for a moment by his startlingly blue eyes. They were such an unusual color…almost like ice. The guy was _cute_, too, she thought as the corner of his mouth turned up in a smile. Her gaze flickered to his nametag. _Bobby._

Bobby arched an eyebrow at her lack of response. "Yes?" he repeated.

Kitty came to her senses. "My drink is cold."

"I did it again, didn't I?" he asked with a sigh. "I'm sorry. I can only drink this stuff if it's cold. Sometimes I forget and make the orders wrong." He reached for her cup.

It was her turn to arch an eyebrow. "You work_ here_ and you don't like coffee?"

"Nope," he said cheerfully.

Another man stepped out of a back office. The bright red letters on his tag said _Scott_ and there was a tiny gold star next to the S. His eyes were narrowed at the two of them.

Bobby glanced over his shoulder and flashed a quick smile. When he turned back to Kitty, he propped his elbows up on the counter and leaned close to her.

"Listen," Bobby said in a low, conspiratorial voice, "that's my manager. Between you and me, I'm probably only one…_mistake_ away from being demoted to busboy. So if you could not make a fuss that would be really great. I'll get you a fresh drink and I promise it won't be cold." He looked at her seriously, eyes searching hers for a response.

Kitty let out a sigh. "I'm not going to complain," she said. "But if you could hurry up with my coffee…"

"Of course," he said, nodding. He turned to his manager and gave a thumbs up. Scott, still looking suspicious, retreated into the office. Once the other man was gone, Bobby grabbed a new cup from the stack and crossed to the coffee pot. He poured it nearly to the rim before snapping the lid over it. The blond boy glanced back at the office and saw that Scott was now engrossed in his computer. Apparently satisfied that he was no longer being watched, Bobby slid the glass door to the display of pastries open and selected a blueberry muffin. He slipped in into a paper bag emblazoned with the shop's logo – a smiling sun – and brought the coffee and the muffin to the counter where Kitty was waiting.

"You're the best," Bobby told her confidently, as if he'd known her all his life.

Marie looked at her coworker with an amused smirk on her features. "He did it again, didn't he?" she asked. Kitty nodded and the other girl snorted. "It's a miracle Scott hasn't fired you yet," she remarked.

Bobby ignored her. "Here you go," he announced, pushing both the coffee cup and the pastry bag towards Kitty. She picked up her coffee and took a long sip. It was definitely worth the hassle, she thought fervently.

"I didn't order that, though," Kitty reminded him, gesturing to the muffin, which still sat in its small bag.

He winked. "It's on me." Bobby picked up the iced coffee and examined the hasty scrawl on it. "Have a good day, Katherine." Then he made a face. "Katherine, really?"

"Well, it _is_ my name," Kitty answered, defensive. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"No, no, of course not," he said emphatically. Bobby's eyes regarded her thoughtfully for a moment. "You just look like the type of girl who would have a nickname. Katie, maybe, or Kat?"

Well, there went her feelings of being more adult. "Growing up, my family always called me Kitty," the girl admitted.

He grinned at her. "Kitty," he repeated. "_Of course_. I'm Bobby."

"I know," she answered. He tilted his head, curious now. "You're wearing a nametag," Kitty continued.

"You're right," Bobby said. "You're right. Well, have a good day, Kitty. Come back soon."

And as Kitty walked out of the coffee shop, drink and muffin in hand, she thought he might just be sincere.

XxXxX

Kitty hit the ground running in both her classes and with her internship. She was so busy getting settled into her new place and working under the professor and trying to keep on top of her classes that it was the fourth week of school – and the middle of September – before she made it back to Wake Up!

She planned to rectify that today, however. Her Tuesday class let out at noon and she wasn't scheduled for her internship. Once her class ended, she packed up her books and laptop and headed straight for the coffee shop.

Once again, Marie and Bobby were both behind the counter. As Kitty entered, a bell sounded off somewhere overhead. Both employees looked up at her. Marie acknowledged her presence with a nod before going back to adding whipped cream to the top of a drink. Bobby, however, grinned at her.

"I was wondering when you were coming back," he said as Kitty approached the counter. "I thought –"

"–you thought she found a place where they actually hire competent baristas?" Marie cut in.

"Do you realize you just insulted yourself by saying that?" Bobby questioned.

"The two of you need to stop arguing in front of customers!" Scott called from the office. "I swear I will fire you both."

Marie flushed a bit and finished up her order. As soon as she slid it across the counter she began wiping down her station with a dish towel, as if she thought her job would no longer be in jeopardy if her area was clean.

Bobby didn't seem to be concerned. "Scott would never fire us. He loves us. He's like our work dad."

"I do _not_ love you and I am _not_ your dad," Scott huffed.

"He always says that," Bobby told Kitty, winking, "but we know he doesn't mean it. So where have you been?"

Kitty was sure she should have been annoyed by this question. She certainly didn't owe this guy – who she'd met all of two times – an explanation. But at the same time it was kind of nice that he'd wondered about her. It was sweet, somehow. "I've been busy," Kitty answered finally. "New place, you know, plus a new school and my internship is kind of crazy."

"Internship," Bobby echoed. "What kind of internship?"

"Leave the poor girl alone, Bobby," Marie chided him. "You don't need her life story just to take her coffee order."

Bobby blinked, surprised. "I'm not bothering you, am I?" he asked.

In truth, he really _wasn't._ It was nice talking to him. Kitty shook her head in response and he smiled. "See," Bobby said, glancing at his coworker over his shoulder, "_she_ likes me."

"She's being nice," Marie retorted without missing a beat.

"So what kind of internship are you doing?" Bobby questioned again, ignoring Marie's quip.

"I'm working under Professor Xavier at the university. He's writing a new book and I'm assisting with it, fact checking, keeping things organized, that kind of thing." She cracked a smile. "And it pays well enough to keep me in coffee."

"That's good," Bobby agreed. "I've heard it's crazy competitive to get one of his internships. So if you're doing all that, you must be some kind of genius, right? Scott's girlfriend, Jean, used to be an intern for him, too, and she's probably going to cure cancer or something."

Kitty felt her cheeks warm and she ducked her head. Her old feelings of shyness whenever someone brought up her intelligence resurfaced. "I wouldn't say 'genius'," she replied.

He grinned. "And she's modest. Well, what can I get started for you?"

The brunette hesitated. It was still warm out, too warm for a hot drink in the middle of the afternoon. She glanced at the menu, mulling over her options, and found that she still had no idea what she wanted. Kitty had always been a plain cup of coffee kind of girl.

"I don't actually know," Kitty admitted. "Any suggestions?"

"Order something that's _supposed_ to be cold," Marie put in. To Kitty's surprise, Bobby didn't have a witty reply for this.

"She's right," he said with a hint of defeat. "I do better with cold stuff. Frappuccinos are really good and there are a lot of flavors. Strawberry, caramel, mocha, vanilla…"

"Okay. I'll take a caramel frappuccino. Medium, so in case I don't like it I'll still be able to finish it."

He took a plastic cup from the stack and marked it with a Sharpie he pulled from the pocket of his apron. "Smart of you," Bobby said, grinning. "Are you sure you aren't a genius?"

Kitty smiled. "Maybe I'm a _bit_ of a genius," she conceded. She fished her phone from the back pocket of her jeans and tapped the screen. There was a missed call from her mom. Kitty frowned and decided to ignore it for the moment. If she returned the call now, there was no doubt she'd get sucked right back into the mess at home. Frankly, she didn't have the time or energy to deal with it. Kitty put her phone away. _Out of sight, out of mind_.

"I think you made a good choice," Bobby began as he clicked the domed lid over her drink. Then he caught sight of her face. "Hey, is everything okay?" he asked. There was a note of concern in his voice, maybe too much for someone he barely knew.

Kitty looked up to meet his gaze. "Yeah, I'm okay. Just…family, you know?"

He nodded. "I know how that goes," he replied. "Anyway, here's your drink. You made a good choice. And trust me, in a few weeks it will be rainy and cold, so there'll be plenty of time for hot stuff then."

She took a cautious sip and considered it for a moment. Despite the caramel it wasn't as sickly sweet as she had expected. "This is good," Kitty told him.

He smiled. "I told you I do better with cold stuff. I mean, I might not be a genius like you, but I'm not a _complete_ idiot, either."

The brunette had a comment on the tip of her tongue when Scott came out of the office. "Bobby, _please_ flirt on your own time. I don't want to deal with a harassment suit." The older man looked at them both sternly for a moment before turning on his heel to go back to his office.

Kitty felt her cheeks warm again, but Bobby shrugged off his boss's words. "He's kidding about the lawsuit," Bobby assured her. "Unless you're really going to file one…?"

She let out a laugh that, reflecting on it later, was probably closer to a giggle. "No danger of that here," she swore.

"Good," Bobby replied. "See, I told you you're the best."

"Maybe you _should_ file a lawsuit," Marie quipped, turning to look at them. "You're only encouraging him, Kitty."

Any lingering hopes of feeling like an adult Kitty might have had were gone now if everyone was going to call her Kitty. She didn't _really _mind though. It was one familiar thing in this new place. And if she wasn't wrong, the way both Bobby and Marie talked with her like they'd known her for years made her think she just might have made some friends.

XxXxX

The following Monday afternoon found Kitty back at the café. She had been slightly disappointed to see that it was not Bobby behind the counter for once, but it had kind of balanced out. Marie, who was also not working today, had snagged the big table and invited Kitty to share it with her.

It was nice, Kitty thought, sitting there with the other girl. Both had their own projects and homework spread across the table and neither was really talking, but the companionship was nice. When she'd finally gotten around to calling her mom back over the weekend, Kitty had only hesitated for a moment before saying she'd made a few friends. Now she was sure that was actually true.

Kitty was so absorbed in typing up the notes she had carefully organized for Professor Xavier's book that she hadn't noticed the bell going off or that Bobby had crept up to the table she and Marie were at.

"Don't you know people write songs about girls like you?"

She looked up, startled, at Bobby's grinning face. "Really?" she asked flatly, one eyebrow arched.

"It's a _song_," he said, pointing up at one of the speakers that was mounted to the ceiling. Kitty listened for a moment and found that he was right. She made a mental note to look up the song later when she could listen to it properly.

Marie had looked up from her own work as well. She smirked at him. "Let's be fair, Bobby. You can't blame her for thinking you were trying to use it as a line."

"Not de worst thing I eva heard him say to a girl," a new voice said. Kitty glanced over to see a man who had apparently come in with Bobby. He had brown hair that just grazed his jaw line and there was an ace of spades on his purple T-shirt. It took Kitty a moment to place his accent as Cajun.

The other girl smiled and offered the newcomer her cheek, which he leaned down to kiss. "This is Remy, my boyfriend. Remy, this is Kitty."

"De one he won't shut up about," Remy supplied, jerking his head in Bobby's direction.

Kitty cocked her head to the side, confused. Marie, seeing this, explained. "Remy's also Bobby's roommate."

"Do _not_ play cards with him," Bobby said seriously, icy blue gaze locked on Kitty. "He's been stealing my money for years."

"I been _winnin'_ yo money," Remy corrected.

But Kitty was still hung up on what Remy had said before. "You talk about me?" she asked Bobby, who had pulled out a chair at the table and plopped down in it next to her. "But you hardly know me."

"I wouldn't say 'talk about'," he answered as he dumped his messenger bag on the table and rummaged through it. He pulled out his phone from somewhere within its depths. "I'd say I _mentioned _meeting a cool, smart girl at work."

"You didn't complain to Scott about him, so basically he's in love with you," Marie said.

Bobby scowled at her. "That is a gross exaggeration," he told Kitty. "Such good friends I have."

Remy and Marie both looked very pleased with themselves.

The brunette girl was still confused. "You talk about me," she repeated.

"Not in a weird way," Bobby assured her, blue eyes serious again. "All I said was there was a cool girl I met at work…who probably helped me not get fired," he amended.

Kitty considered this. She was more than a little flattered to be thought of so highly by someone who hardly knew her at all. She found herself smiling shyly at Bobby's assessment of her, which he returned.

There was a pause. Kitty went back to her notes and tried to keep herself from grinning. She heard Marie and Remy talking quietly amongst themselves and Bobby drumming his fingertips on the table.

"So if I _did_ use that as a line," he began out of the blue, "you know, _hypothetically_…would it work?"

The brunette girl turned away from her computer again. She shook her head. "Sorry," she told him, "it would have to be a way better line than that for any girl in her right mind to fall for it." Bobby looked almost sad at this response, so Kitty reached out to pat his arm comfortingly. "Maybe if you _sang_ the song?" she continued.

"You do not want to hear him sing," Marie said, snorting.

"She's right," Remy agreed.

"I'm wounded," Bobby said flatly.

Marie regarded her coworker for a moment. "What are you doing here, anyway? Don't you have class soon?"

"Stalker," Bobby answered promptly. "I do have class, but it's also Monday at –" he tapped the screen of his phone so that the time flashed on the display – "3:04 p.m. Which means that in exactly eleven minutes Scott is going to come out of his office and post the schedule for the next two weeks. Once he does that I'm going to take a picture of it so I know when I have to show up, which will then give me approximately thirteen minutes to get to my 3:30 class."

"At Lensherr Hall," Marie said. Bobby nodded. "Which is on the opposite end of campus. The furthest campus building from here." He nodded again.

"Couldn't you just come back after your class?" Kitty questioned. Bobby's logic was lost on her.

"I could," the blond boy replied, "but I like to live dangerously."

"Which means he neva thought of dat," Remy put in.

Bobby just glared at the other boy before turning his attention back to his messenger bag. He pulled out two thick textbooks and a binder, stacking them neatly on the table. Then he began piling bits of paper and granola bar wrappers on the table beside his books.

"How is that what your bag looks like already?" Marie asked. "School only started a few weeks ago."

Bobby shrugged and continued to work on cleaning out his bag. When he got up to throw the trash out, Kitty studied the names of his textbooks. As he came back to rejoin them, she said, "You're an accounting student." The brunette girl couldn't hide her surprise.

"I'm smart," he replied.

"Coulda fooled me," Remy muttered.

Kitty ignored that remark. "I didn't mean it like that," she said to the blond boy, her cheeks pink.

He grinned at her, eyes sparkling with mirth. "I know you didn't. It surprises everyone; don't worry about it." He picked up his books and dumped them back into his now clean bag.

Kitty was still turning this new information over in her head when Scott made an appearance. His attention lingered on their group and he let out an enormous sigh.

"Why is it," the manager began, gaze settled firmly on Bobby now, "that I can never get rid of you, even on your days off?"

"Love you too," the blond boy called cheerfully. He picked up his phone and made his way across the café to where Scott was pinning the schedule to the bulletin board.

The older man, still grumbling, tossed the old schedule in the garbage can before disappearing into his office. Kitty was pretty sure she caught the phrase, "…don't pay me enough."

Bobby returned for his bag and his books. He acknowledged his friends with a nod. "I guess I'll see you two later. And Kitty –" she turned her attention to him – "maybe reconsider where you're sitting. Don't make the same mistake I did by being friends with them," he told her in a grave tone.

"I'll do my best," Kitty answered in the same grim voice.

He smiled at her again, his hand skimming her shoulder as he passed on his way out. Kitty watched as he left, once again fighting to keep herself from grinning.

"What are we going to do with him?" Marie asked with a sigh.

Remy had not missed the way Kitty had watched Bobby go. "I tink he's her problem now," he answered.


	2. October

.

**I Think That Possibly Maybe I'm Falling for You**

_October_

Bobby had been right about one thing. The rainy season came to Westchester soon enough. Just as he had predicted, Kitty soon went back to her usual cup of coffee, though once in a while she could be persuaded to try one of the seasonal drinks.

Kitty had also learned the names of the other people who worked at Wake Up! There was Clarice, who was fairly quiet for someone who kept her hair dyed purple. The other girl was nice though. Like Bobby, when Clarice told her to have a good day, Kitty believed her. The only other thing Kitty knew about Clarice was that she had a boyfriend named James, but she hadn't met him yet.

Roberto seemed to have the opposite problem of Bobby in that he always seemed to make drinks too hot. Kitty didn't really mind this, however. With the weather being what it was, anything hot was very much appreciated. The other thing that Kitty had observed about Roberto was that he seemed to have a bit of a temper, which maybe wasn't the best thing to have when working with people who could be needlessly picky. In any case, she heard him counting to ten a lot, probably to stay calm.

And then there was Piotr, an art student from Russia whom Bobby called Pete. Piotr was quiet like Clarice and in addition to his barista duties he also decorated the store and arranged the various displays. Kitty had also learned that some of the paintings on the walls were ones he had made.

The brunette was sure that she was accepted as a regular now. No matter who was behind the counter, she always got a friendly hello and a smile and everyone familiarly called her Kitty. But of everyone, there were no doubts that Bobby and Marie welcomed her the most. They'd incorporated her into their fold so easily that sometimes it seemed like they'd all been friends for years.

She found the dynamic between the two of them kind of fascinating. The constant back and forth between them reminded her of siblings she'd seen on TV and in movies. Neither Marie nor Bobby ever missed a beat when it came to having a witty retort. She guessed that all the time they had clearly spent together had something to do with it.

And then there was Bobby just in general. One of the things Kitty prided herself on – and she was well aware of the pun – was that she was always honest. And in keeping with that, she had to admit to herself that she had a crush on him.

It was hard _not _to. He was always so nice, so genuinely nice, and he never failed to ask how her day had been so far. Kitty supposed it was in his job description, but with Bobby it never seemed fake. He also made her laugh. And sometimes when he gave her that smile…well, Kitty had a new understanding of the phrase "weak in the knees." She also had a new hatred of clichés.

While she had been hanging around Wake Up! Kitty had noticed that the object of her affections didn't seem to act this way with anyone else. Sure, Bobby was always friendly to customers, but as far as she had seen he never asked them personal questions or invited them to join him once his shift was over. The silly, preadolescent girl in Kitty thought that could possibly mean there was a chance he felt the same way, but Kitty tried not to think like that.

There was a good reason Kitty didn't want to dwell on this possibility. It was that she didn't want to ruin everything she had going for her here. If the feelings being mutual turned out to be all in her head, she knew she wouldn't be able to hang around the café anymore. She'd be too embarrassed and since she was comfortable there and the location was so convenient, Kitty didn't think she should mess with that. She didn't want to lose Bobby's friendship – or Marie's or Remy's by extension.

Still, though, her girly side told her, she'd never heard him mention seeing anybody…

On a Thursday afternoon, Kitty found her way to the coffee shop again. She had a paper to get started on. She ordered her usual coffee from Marie and quickly claimed one of the armchairs in the far corner furthest from the door. This was Kitty's favorite spot because she could see and hear most of what was going on and yet not a lot of people chose this section to sit in, which allowed her relative peace.

She fired up her laptop and sipped her coffee as she waited for it. Kitty opened a new document and connected to the Wi-Fi for internet access so she could get to work.

It was a productive afternoon for the girl and as she wrote she was in a good mood, humming along to the songs she knew that played over the speakers. Kitty was a good two pages into her paper when Bobby announced his presence by clearing his throat.

She looked up to see him standing over her with that easy grin gracing his features. He had his messenger bag slung across his body and she could see that he had hastily shoved his apron into it. In his hands he had two plates of what smelled like pumpkin bread.

"Break time?" he asked, offering her one of the plates. Kitty accepted it with a smile and moved her computer to the end table wedged between her chair and the one Bobby was now settling into. "So what are you working on?" the blond boy questioned. "My money's on cure for the common cold."

She laughed. "I only work on that on the weekends." He smiled again at this answer and Kitty could only think about how _easy_ everything was with him. She realized that she was staring and quickly averted her gaze. She broke off a piece of her pumpkin bread and popped it into her mouth. It was still warm. Kitty decided she had definitely missed out by sticking to her plain coffee and no desserts for so long. "Thanks," she added once she had swallowed.

Bobby nodded. "Sure," he answered. "I mean, you looked like you were working really hard and I thought you might, you know, forget to feed yourself like you genius types do." He took a bite of his own dessert.

This left Kitty to blush again – why was she always doing that around him? It must have something to do with how kind he was. Bobby's tone was casual, but his words told Kitty that he worried about her, at least a little bit. Why did he have to be so _sweet_? It only fueled her crush.

"So what _are_ you doing?" the blond boy asked again when he had finished his pumpkin bread. "Let me guess. It's a paper that's not due for another month, right?"

"Three weeks," Kitty admitted. When he smirked a bit at this response, she defended herself. "I have a lot going on, and I like to give myself time to edit."

Bobby held his hands up with the palms facing out. "I'm teasing," he assured. "I'm just feeling like a slacker over here. I don't think I've ever worked on anything so far in advance."

Marie, who was nearby gathering up dirty dishes that had been left behind, piped up. "That's because you never have."

"Hey, Kitty," Bobby said loudly, "maybe you should apply for a job here. We're like a big happy family who love and support each other." He looked at Clarice behind the counter and then over at Roberto, who was just coming in. "Wouldn't you guys say so?"

"I don't know what's happening, but leave me out of it," Roberto muttered. Clarice nodded in agreement.

Bobby looked mildly offended. "Okay then. Well, the _rest_ of us are a family. Marie is the annoying _older_ sister, I'm the adorable son, and Scott is the dad."

The café manager looked over at Bobby from where he had been inspecting a display of gourmet coffee beans Piotr had set up. "Bobby," Scott said flatly, "for the last time, I'm not your dad."

But the blond boy ignored this. "And Kitty –"

"–does not actually work here," Scott pointed out. "We can change that, though," he added, glancing at the brunette girl. "I'll give you Bobby's job right now if you want. No questions asked."

"I'm good," Kitty assured the older man. She turned back to Bobby. "You know, one of these days he probably really is going to fire you," she said.

"He only pretends to hate me," Bobby answered. "Anyway, before I was so rudely interrupted, I was going to say that you're the cute girl next door type who spends all her time here because we're the cool family on the block."

She arched an eyebrow. "Thanks," Kitty said eventually, because it did sound like he meant it as a compliment.

"Anytime."

XxXxX

Kitty walked out of her midterm feeling stressed and worn out. She had entered it feeling confident, but the exam had been much more grueling than she had expected. The multiple choice section had been easy and she knew it was only there for the professor to see who had done the reading, which of course she had.

And then there had been the essay. It was only one question but it was worth a good portion of the exam's points. Her response hadn't come easily because she couldn't pick a side to argue. Once she had, she had rushed through it to include all the points she wanted to make. Kitty knew that overall it was far from her best work.

She pinched the bridge of her nose as she walked across campus, her gaze focused firmly on the ground. The good thing about it being midterms at the university was that at least Kitty was not the only one walking around like that.

The brunette knew she was probably being a little too tough on herself, but she had worked so hard to get where she was. A bad grade was going to bring her whole average down…

Kitty left campus on autopilot, hardly noticing where she was going. It wasn't until she looked up that she noticed that she was already on the same block where the café was. She really ought to go home, she knew, and maybe wallow a bit, but she hesitated. The girl found herself level with the glass door, which had been decorated for fall – courtesy of Piotr, of course – with fat orange pumpkins and red leaves. Despite the decorations, she could still make out Bobby sitting alone on one of the couches. Kitty made up her mind and pushed the door open.

Bobby looked up at the sound of the bell and he smiled as he saw it was her. "Hey, Kitty," he greeted. The smile was soon replaced with a frown when he saw how upset she was. He patted the spot on the couch next to him. Kitty made a beeline to her friend, sinking down onto the plush leather with a sigh. "Rough test?" he guessed. Kitty nodded. Bobby put the notebook he'd been looking at on top of the coffee table in front of the couch and turned to her. "I bet it's not as bad as you think it is," he said.

"It's probably not," the brunette admitted, ducking her head. "I might be overreacting. But I know I didn't do as good of a job as I could have and I _hate _it."

The blond boy nodded. "So you're just being hard on yourself."

Kitty looked up, opening her mouth to protest. She found that she really couldn't. He was right. She ducked her head again.

Bobby continued. "I know that 'not your best' is probably still better than a lot of people's best. And I bet if your professor offered extra credit, you did it."

"He only wanted a one page paper. Of _course_ I did it," Kitty answered.

Bobby smiled at her again. "See? It's not so bad." He reached out to squeeze her shoulder. "School is hard enough without you beating yourself up about it, okay?"

Kitty let loose another sigh, but she bobbed her head in agreement.

Bobby, however, didn't seem to think his words were having much of an impact. "I know what will make you feel better," he declared, getting to his feet. Before Kitty could ask what he meant, Bobby had already crossed to the opposite side of the coffee shop. He went behind the counter and into Scott's office. She couldn't see what he did after that from where she was sitting, but the usual indie music that played overhead changed to 80s music. In spite of herself, Kitty found a small smile tugging at her lips.

He reappeared from the office but didn't return to his seat. Instead, Bobby stopped to talk to Piotr behind the counter. She watched as Piotr pulled a piece of lemon pound cake from the pastry case and slipped it onto a plate. He handed it to Bobby. The blond boy took his wallet from his back pocket and counted out a few bills. Piotr took the money and picked up clean mug from the shelf and poured coffee in it before giving that to Bobby as well. Bobby nodded appreciatively and carefully made his way back to Kitty, grinning at her.

"You didn't have to do this," Kitty protested.

He passed the mug to her. "Sure I did." Bobby leaned down to put the cake in front of her before returning to his position on the couch. "I have to admit though, if 80s music and dessert didn't make you feel better I was going to declare you a lost cause." That easy smile found its way to his face again. Kitty found herself returning it.

"I guess I could always try singing," Bobby mused thoughtfully. "_Don't you want me baby, don't you want me oh…_" he intoned dramatically.

Kitty could only laugh. "Please stop," she managed to get out, clutching her stomach with her free hand.

"I will, but only because now I _know_ you feel better," he said. "Like I said, everyone loves the 80s. And dessert. They make everything better."

"I'll have to remember that," Kitty remarked. "Aren't you going to get in trouble for changing the station though?" Knowing what she knew about Scott's lack of enthusiasm for Bobby's antics, she couldn't imagine the older man was going to be happy.

Bobby shook his head. "Scott's at a meeting with a supplier. I'll turn it back before he gets here."

He sure was confident, Kitty had to give him that. But she supposed that if Scott hadn't fired Bobby yet after all the other stunts he had pulled, Bobby must have been right about Scott having a soft spot for him. She knew how that was, so she couldn't fault the older man for that.

"Thank you for cheering me up," Kitty said eventually, remembering her manners. "You're a really good friend." Her gaze fell on Bobby's abandoned notebook. "Now I feel bad though. You were studying."

"Don't worry about it," Bobby insisted. "I was glad to see you. Not glad that you were upset, but I needed a distraction. My brain was starting to hurt." He picked up his notebook again. "And I'm not really worried. The last midterm I have is for my business ethics class, and I'm a very ethical person."

"Of course you are," Kitty agreed.

Bobby went back to his studying. Kitty leaned back against the couch. She sipped her coffee and nibbled at her cake and tried not to think too much. She tried to relax. Like Bobby had said, it couldn't be _that_ bad. And even if it was, she had another two months left in the semester to fix her grade.

After awhile, the blond boy put his notebook aside again. He glanced over at Kitty, smiling…shyly? "Kitty, I was wondering…maybe –" He stopped midsentence as he caught sight of something in the window. "Hey, do me a favor? Can you put your head on my shoulder and look sad?"

She was confused yet intrigued. She did as she was asked just in time for Bobby to put his arm around her as Scott pushed the door open.

The older man froze in his tracks, frowning. "Who changed the…" His gaze flickered around the café until it landed on Bobby. The blond boy arranged his features into a sympathetic look and pulled Kitty a little closer. Kitty adopted the best sad expression she could muster. Scott sighed and rubbed his temples for a moment as if he had a headache. When he spoke again, Kitty could tell he was trying to sound nice. "If you could refrain from changing the Pandora station, especially on days when _you aren't working_, that would be great."

"You got it, boss," Bobby replied cheerfully.

Scott sighed again, still rubbing his temples. He walked back into his office and closed the door behind him. A moment later, the speakers stopped belting out "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" and went back to the regular indie music.

"I knew that would work," Bobby told her as he released her.

"You're just lucky I'm so good at getting you out of trouble," Kitty muttered. But she bumped him playfully with her shoulder to let him know she was only kidding.

"Oh, I'm definitely lucky," the blond boy agreed. He mimicked her actions, bumping into her gently. Bobby apparently decided he was comfortable leaning against her because he didn't move. Kitty didn't exactly mind the proximity. It was nice.

She did, however, wonder what Bobby was going to say before he'd been interrupted.


	3. November

.

**I Think That Possibly Maybe I'm Falling for You**

_November_

The rainy season soon gave way to snow. Kitty, of course, was no stranger to snow and she actually enjoyed bundling up. She loved dressing in layers and feeling cozy and warm. Despite the weather, she still mostly chose to walk over driving.

It was a Monday morning in the middle of November and she was in an excellent mood as she made her way to Wake Up! It was a short week as far as classes went because of the Thanksgiving holiday, which was part of the reason for her cheerfulness. The snow crunched satisfactorily under her feet as she walked. It reminded her of home.

The brunette entered the coffee shop. Her heart did the familiar flutter it always did when she saw Bobby. She felt hopelessly silly for admitting that to herself.

Thankfully, there wasn't a line, which only added to Kitty's good mood. They'd have a few minutes to talk.

"Usual to go?" he asked, grinning.

"You know me so well," Kitty replied as she counted out the exact change for her drink.

Bobby took a paper cup from the stack and turned to pour the coffee for her. She noticed he didn't try to add ice to it this time, so she supposed that was progress.

He snapped a lid over the drink and slipped it into a cardboard sleeve before turning back to her. But instead of giving her the coffee, Bobby put his elbows on the counter and leaned towards her, just like he had on the day they'd first met.

"What are you doing for Thanksgiving? Are you going home?"

She shook her head. "The break isn't really long enough for it."

"You should come over."

Kitty tilted her head to one side, confused. "You're going to be open on Thanksgiving?" she asked.

"No, of course not. I meant you should come over to my apartment."

"For dinner," Kitty clarified. She couldn't really picture Bobby – who could barely remember not to put ice in her coffee – cooking Thanksgiving dinner.

He frowned a bit. "_Yes_ for dinner," he answered. "I mean, Remy and Marie will be there, too. And they do the cooking. I just thought, you know…" Bobby's voice trailed off and he looked at her shyly, just like he had the day of her midterm.

"I'd love to," Kitty blurted out.

"Yeah?" he questioned, sounding skeptical.

"Yes," Kitty said. "Should I bring something?"

He shook his head, smiling now. "Just yourself," he replied. The blond boy relinquished her drink. "I'll text you the address later, okay?" He slid the cup across the counter. Kitty caught it expertly.

She raised the cup to her lips and took a sip. It was definitely not her plain coffee. "This tastes suspiciously like peppermint," Kitty said, brown eyes narrowed at her friend.

"It's festive!" Bobby exclaimed. "I only put a little bit in. You know, for flavor," he added earnestly.

Kitty groaned. "Don't you know by now not to mess with my coffee?" She sighed loudly, eyes still narrowed. This was about all the annoyance she could muster for her friend.

"One day I promise I will make your coffee the exact way you like it," Bobby told her. "Today's just not that day."

"I would like to know exactly what Scott was thinking when he hired you," she muttered. "I have to get to class. See you later." She turned on her heel and strode across the café.

"You're still the best!" Bobby called after her.

Somehow, that made her peppermint-flavored coffee worth it.

XxXxX

She really should have driven, Kitty scolded herself as she trudged through the snow to Bobby and Remy's apartment. The snow she had been so excited about just days ago was now just another annoyance. Her good mood was gone. The petite brunette was _cranky_.

And that was why she had decided to walk in the first place. Kitty knew that her bad attitude was not her friends' fault. She had hoped that taking the time to walk might help, but all it had resulted in was further frustration.

Finally, Kitty came to the address Bobby had texted her. She let herself into the lobby and climbed the stairs to the second floor. Kitty set off down the corridor until she found the door marked 2G. She carefully placed her left arm under the pie she was carrying so she could knock with her other hand.

The door was pulled open almost immediately, like they'd been waiting for her. Bobby greeted her with a smile. "Hey, glad you could make it," he said. "And you brought pie."

"I know you said not to, but I couldn't just show up empty handed," Kitty replied. "And pumpkin pie is the only thing I can make for some reason." Her tone was too cheerful. She was sure he could tell.

Bobby took the dessert from her. "We never turn down food around here," he told her seriously. "Make yourself at home, okay?" Kitty shrugged off her coat and hung it on a hook near the door as Bobby carried the pie over to the counter. "Hey guys, Kitty's here!" he yelled down the hallway.

A moment later Marie and Remy appeared. "Happy Thanksgiving," Marie said as they drew closer to the brunette girl. "Did I hear Bobby say something about pie?"

"You did," Kitty confirmed. "I couldn't show up without contributing _something_." She smiled at the two. "Thanks for having me," she added. Her tone was still entirely too peppy.

"I knew you had better manners than that," Marie said. "Well, the turkey's been in the oven for hours. We should be eating around 3:00. I have appetizers all ready to go if you're hungry now."

Kitty could only smile at her friend's level of preparedness. "I could eat," she answered.

Marie turned to Remy and started giving him instructions, which he took good naturedly. It suggested to Kitty that he was very much used to his girlfriend's orders. The couple went to busy themselves in the kitchen. Bobby reappeared at her side.

"I'll give you a tour." He waved a hand around the room they were currently in. "Living room slash kitchen."

"I tink she figured that out," Remy commented from the kitchen half of the room. Bobby sighed, resigned.

Kitty took a better look around. The room was cut in half by the counter where Marie and Remy now stood. The kitchen half was to the left. Tucked under the right side of the counter were a few barstools. The smell of the turkey filled the whole room, which made Kitty realize just how hungry she was.

In the living room half there was a couch and a loveseat facing a TV. A coffee table was arranged at an angle so that it could be used from either seat. The TV and entertainment center were placed at the same angle. Kitty could see an Xbox hooked up to the TV. The shelves of the entertainment center were filled with games, DVDs, and Blu-rays.

At the very back of the combination kitchen/living room was a long table. Kitty could see that it had already been set for dinner. Just to the left of the table was the hall Remy and Marie had come from. Bobby crossed the room towards it and Kitty followed after him.

"You two behave yoselves now," Remy called.

"I would apologize for him but I'm sure you're used to it by now," Bobby told her. Kitty gave him a smile to let him know that it was alright. They came to a closed door on the left side of the hallway. "Remy's room," Bobby said. "Trust me, be glad the door's shut." He continued down the corridor. "Bathroom," he pointed out, "and my room."

They were at the very end of the hall now. He walked into his room and motioned for her to join him. It was neater than Kitty had expected. The bed was made and there weren't any dirty clothes strewn across the hardwood floor, which looked as if it had been swept fairly recently.

Kitty stood in the center of the room, observing. There were band posters on the walls. Some names she recognized; others she didn't. Textbooks were stacked on the desk next to a shiny silver laptop. Somehow, the tidiness didn't quite mesh with the Bobby she knew. Kitty wondered if he had cleaned up for her.

While she had been looking around, Bobby shut the door. He approached her slowly. Kitty felt her muscles tense. What exactly did he think was going to happen?

"Something's bothering you," Bobby said quietly. "You're being too chipper. It's not you."

Kitty's face creased into a frown. So he _had_ noticed. Of course he had.

Bobby's expression mirrored hers. "Look, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. But I'm right here if you do." He spoke with concern. Kitty looked up at him, noting the crease between his eyebrows. He was really worried about her. It was so sweet. She felt a rush of affection for him as tears began to prick at her eyes.

The brunette girl closed the distance between them, winding her arms around his torso and burying her face in his chest. Bobby's arms folded around her just as her tears started to fall.

He didn't shy away from her though. He just let Kitty get it all out, holding her and rubbing her back as she cried. Eventually her tears subsided, but she didn't move away yet. Kitty tried to calm herself down. She focused on Bobby, on breathing him in. He smelled like winter, clean and cool. His navy blue T-shirt was the kind of soft and worn that only came with years of washes. He felt _solid_ to her. She was sure he wasn't going anywhere until she wanted him to.

Kitty removed her face from its hiding spot. She looked up at Bobby, feeling stupid for crying. The blond boy still looked very worried about her.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked her gently.

She supposed she owed him an explanation after crying the way she had. She nodded and Bobby gestured to the bed. Kitty took a seat and he joined her. He covered her hand with his, rubbing his thumb across it while Kitty told him the whole story.

She told him how her parents were in the middle of a nasty divorce. She told him how they'd both tried to drag her into the middle of their constant fighting. She told him how sad it made her that both her mom and dad had done such 180s in their personalities and that she spent too much time trying to avoid speaking to either of them. To his credit, Bobby didn't say a word. He just listened as Kitty vented to him.

"And the worst part," she continued, "happened last night. I was baking the pie and my mom called. I thought it was going okay, you know, because she hadn't brought up my dad at all. But when I mentioned that I had to check the pie and explained how I was coming over here for Thanksgiving, she got really angry. She said that I'm my father's daughter; that I had left her, too. She said I thought my fancy job – which is not fancy at all – and my new life here were more important than her."

Bobby let out a low whistle. "What did you do?"

"I told her I had to go and I hung up," Kitty admitted. "I've never done that before."

He let out a sigh and pulled her close, closer than he had held her earlier. It felt more intimate, somehow. "Listen to me, Kitty," the blond boy implored her seriously. "Those are awful, _awful_ things to say. And it wasn't fair of your mom to attack you like that. I'm sorry she said those things to you, but you know they aren't true, right?"

Kitty nodded. "I know she didn't mean it."

"Doesn't matter if she meant it or not," Bobby replied. There was something in his voice Kitty had never heard before. She could only describe it as fierceness, like he wanted to protect her and was angry on her behalf. "Your mom – and your dad – should be proud of you. I am. I know you're going to do a lot of good things with your life."

The brunette girl felt her cheeks warm. She pulled out of his grasp. "You really think that, don't you?"

He nodded. "Yeah, of course. And just for the record, I'm glad you came here. I'm glad I met you."

"You're embarrassing me," Kitty muttered. "But I'm glad I met you, too." She looked down at the floor for a moment. "I'm sorry I cried," she added after awhile.

Bobby squeezed her shoulder. "Don't worry about it." He looked at her thoughtfully. "Um, there should be washcloths in the bathroom if you want to wash your face."

Kitty got to her feet. "That's probably a good idea," she admitted. She crossed Bobby's room to the door and opened it. He followed at her heels as she continued into the corridor towards the bathroom.

"Come back when you're ready," he told her quietly. She bobbed her head before closing the bathroom door.

Just as Bobby had said, she found a stack of washcloths in a cabinet in the bathroom. She took one and held it under the tap until it was completely soaked before carefully wiping her tear tracks away. Kitty examined her reflection thoroughly for a few minutes, trying to decide if the others would be able to tell she'd just had a minor meltdown. Thankfully, her face was no longer red and puffy, so she came to the conclusion that it was safe to come out.

Marie and Remy both gave her kind smiles as she rejoined the group in the kitchen. Kitty wondered what, if anything, Bobby had told them. She didn't have time to wonder long, however, because the other girl was soon pushing a plate of appetizers toward her and instructing her to have as many as she wanted. The petite brunette pulled out one of the barstools and made herself comfortable.

No one mentioned what had happened. Kitty was grateful for that. All she wanted now was to have a nice Thanksgiving with her friends.

Instead, the trio told her stories. They had plenty of adventures to tell her about from all the years they'd known each other. And despite not having been there for any of these shenanigans, Kitty didn't feel excluded in any way. Their retellings were so vivid she could easily picture everything that had happened. They had enough stories for the conversation to flow all through dinner. Kitty was sure that these tales were heavily embellished, if not entirely fabricated in some places, but they were nice all the same. And Remy and Marie didn't gang up on Bobby too much. He had plenty of embarrassing anecdotes about the two of them, including a hilarious story about how Remy had worked at Wake Up! for all of two hours and somehow managed to be worse at it than Bobby.

"I'm telling you, Kitty, the espresso machine just exploded when he touched it," Bobby swore, leaning back in his chair. "To this day I have never seen Scott as angry as he was that day."

"Even after everyt'ing else you pulled?" Remy asked. "Der mus' be somet'ing you done worse."

Bobby shook his head. "Nope," he answered, making a popping sound on the "p". Remy did not look entirely convinced.

"He's right, Remy," Marie put in. "That honor belongs to you and you alone." She stood, gathering up her plate and silverware. She crossed to the sink with them before returning to her seat, which she moved closer to Remy's so she could lean against him.

The blond boy made a face. "Can you two go be affectionate somewhere else?" He turned his attention to Kitty. "Did I ever tell you that I was the one who introduced them?" he asked.

Kitty shook her head. Bobby smiled and then opened his mouth, prepared to tell the story. Before he could start, however, Marie cut in.

"It wasn't like that," she drawled. "I had closed one night and Bobby was opening the next morning. He needed the key but wasn't going to be in his room, so he asked me to drop it off with his roommate. Since that was better than having to meet him somewhere at 4:30 in the morning, I did." Marie narrowed her eyes at Bobby. "Don't act like you played matchmaker."

Remy pulled Marie a little closer. "Let him preten', chère," he suggested.

"I'm going to be the best man at the wedding," Bobby informed Kitty matter of factly. "And probably godfather to their firstborn." Kitty could only laugh at this statement.

Apparently, the house rules were that whoever had cooked didn't have to clean, which left the task to Bobby. He finished clearing the table and found Tupperware for the leftovers. Kitty was mildly impressed that two college-aged guys even _had _Tupperware. She didn't really like sitting around not helping, but the other three insisted she was a guest and therefore exempt from cleaning.

Kitty made herself comfortable on the couch. Remy and Marie took the loveseat. Bobby was just finishing wiping down the counters when he piped up. "I don't know about you guys, but I for one can't stop thinking about that pie."

"How can you possibly be hungry?" Kitty questioned incredulously. "You just ate half a turkey."

"I'm a man of many talents," the blond boy answered. He opened a drawer and took out a cake knife. "Who wants pie?" Without waiting for a response, he began cutting into the dessert. Bobby brought over two pieces for Kitty and Marie before going back to bring over the slices for himself and Remy.

Kitty watched as her friends all dug into the pie. She didn't really know why she was waiting for approval, but she was. Finally, Bobby turned to her.

"Are you_ sure_ this is the only thing you can make?" he asked. "Because this is seriously good pie." Marie and Remy both bobbed their heads, agreeing.

"It's the only thing I can make," Kitty confirmed. "Unless it's pumpkin pie, I'm a disaster in the kitchen," she added, shrugging.

The blond boy looked like he wasn't so sure, but he didn't press the matter. Instead, he gathered up everyone's dishes and brought them over to the sink.

"Don't forget you have to wash those," Marie said as he rejoined them.

He waved her off as he sunk back into his spot next to Kitty. "Yeah, yeah, _Mom_," Bobby scoffed. "I'll handle it later. What do you guys want to do?"

"We could play poker," Remy suggested innocently.

"No," Marie and Bobby said in unison. Kitty remembered how she had been advised against this and she shook her head in solidarity with her friends. Remy looked as if he had expected this outcome.

The other girl reached for the remote that sat on the coffee table. "Let's just watch a movie," Marie suggested. She turned on the TV and flicked through the channels until she came to _21 Jump_ _Street_, which was just starting. Apparently content with this choice, Marie leaned back against Remy and closed her eyes.

Kitty felt full and sleepy. She found her own eyes closing and made no attempt to fight off her drowsiness. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so relaxed.

She woke with a start hours later to find Bobby standing next to her. He had somehow pried the remote from Marie's hand and was turning the TV off. He leaned down to return the remote to the table and frowned when he caught sight of Kitty watching him.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "Go back to sleep."

She shook her head, yawning. "I'm okay. That was a good nap, though."

He smiled now. "We all had one." He gestured to the loveseat, where their friends were still asleep. "I guess I should take care of the dishes," Bobby said, more to himself than to her.

Kitty stood and stretched. "I'll help you." She saw Bobby open his mouth to protest, but Kitty held up a hand. "It's the least I can do. I'll wash, you dry."

Bobby looked kind of amused by this order, but he complied. He followed her into the kitchen.

They worked in silence for awhile. Kitty could feel his eyes on her. She wondered what he was thinking about. Finally he spoke.

"Did you have a good Thanksgiving?"

The brunette reflected for a minute. The day had definitely started out rocky, but it hadn't been that was for too long. Kitty looked back at him and smiled. "Yeah," she answered.

Bobby grinned. "Top three?"

"Top five," Kitty replied. Bobby pouted playfully and Kitty reached over to pat his arm. "You can always try again next year."

He nodded, as if he were giving this statement serious thought. Then he did the last thing Kitty expected him to do. He reached into the sink and swiped his hand across the surface of the water so that the water splashed her face.

Kitty snatched the dish towel he'd been using from the counter. She wiped her dripping face and glared at her friend. "You are going to pay for that," Kitty announced. She went for the spray hose.

Bobby backed away slowly. "You don't _really_ want to do that," he said. "I'm sorry."

She grinned at him wickedly. "So you can dish it out but you can't take it. Fine." Bobby relaxed as she released the hose. He took a few steps towards her and Kitty, feeling mischievous, grabbed the hose again and pressed down on the lever.

The blond boy burst into laughter. "I underestimated you," he admitted. "I thought you were nicer than that."

"Nope."

"I guess I did deserve it," he decided. Kitty bobbed her head.

There was silence for a moment. Kitty tucked a stay section of hair behind her ear, her go-to move when she was nervous. "I never really said thank you for earlier," she told him eventually.

Bobby frowned. "You don't have to. I'm your _friend_, Kitty. That's why I'm here," he replied firmly. There wasn't going to be any arguing this point.

Kitty had a response, but before she could get it out, Marie yawned loudly from the loveseat. It sounded awfully fake to Kitty. The brunette wondered just what the other girl had overheard.

"I should get home," Marie announced. "I open tomorrow. Kitty, I can give you a ride home if you want."

"Thanks, Marie," Kitty replied. She flashed an appreciative smile at the other girl.

Marie roused Remy so she could say goodnight while Kitty put on her coat. The petite brunette was surprised but pleased when Bobby hugged her good-bye.

"'Night," he said as he let go of her.

"Goodnight. Bye, Remy," she called as an afterthought.

Kitty followed Marie down the street to where she had parked. The first thing Marie did when they had reached the car was put the heater on full blast. Kitty was grateful for that. She gave Marie directions to her apartment.

The ride was spent in silence. Kitty figured that Marie just wanted to concentrate. Since she was driving after dark and with snow on the ground, Kitty didn't blame her.

When they arrived at Kitty's building, she thanked her friend. The brunette went to open her door, but Marie calmly pressed the lock button on the side panel. Kitty looked over at the other girl, frowning.

"Bobby likes you."

"Wh-what?" Kitty spluttered. Marie's statement had caught her off guard, to say the least.

Marie regarded her with a flat expression on her face. "Don't play dumb, Kitty. You're too smart for that. You know exactly what I'm talking about." She crossed her arms over her chest.

"I don't think it's like that for him," Kitty said quietly.

"The boy is _crazy _about you," Marie insisted.

Kitty shook her head. "We're friends."

The other girl snorted. "Oh, yeah. _Friends_. The two of you looked real friendly in the kitchen splashing each other." Kitty felt herself blush.

Marie's features softened. "Look, Bobby's my friend, probably my best friend. I want him to be happy. And you're my friend, too, so I want _you_ to be happy. We all know the two of you would be happier together. All I'm saying is maybe you should take a risk."

Kitty considered this. "Risk taker" was not really how she would describe herself.

"Just think about it, okay?" Marie asked. She pressed the button again and the car door unlocked.

Kitty opened it. "Yeah," she answered, dazed. "I'll think about it."


	4. December

.

**I Think That Possibly Maybe I'm Falling for You**

_December_

Kitty made her way across campus to Professor Xavier's office. She was in a good mood today. It was the last week of school for the semester. Even though this meant it was also finals week, there was a bounce in Kitty's step. She was sure she had aced the exam she had just come from, and Professor Xavier had said he had a surprise for her.

She came to the office and knocked on the door although it was already opened. Her mentor smiled at her. "Come in, Kitty," he said with a definite note of fondness. The petite brunette did as she was told.

The professor rummaged through the papers on his desk. "Ah, here it is," he said cheerfully. He handed her one page from the stack he held in his hand. She took it, curious.

It was a mock up of the Acknowledgements page for the professor's new book. Kitty guessed that the rest of the papers he was holding contained the actual contents of said book. Kitty's brown eyes scanned the document quickly. A grin broke out over her face.

"'And Miss Katherine Pryde, without whose keen mind and devotion this book would not have been possible,'" Kitty read. She looked up from the page, stunned. The professor was still smiling. "Thank you so much," she said with all the sincerity she could muster. It was really too kind of him to include her especially since her internship was a paid one, which was practically unheard of for glorified grunt work.

"It is absolutely true," Professor Xavier assured her. He continued to look on at her fondly. "You can keep that copy. I'm sure there must be someone you want to share the good news with. Enjoy your holidays, Kitty. I'll see you after the new year." The professor made a shooing motion, but Kitty could tell he meant it in an affectionate way rather than a rude one.

Professor Xavier had been right, of course. She could think of someone she wanted to tell. Kitty couldn't keep the smile off of her face even as she trudged through the snow towards the coffee shop. Her grin only seemed to widen as she reached the door.

The café was now decorated for winter. Gone were the leaves and pumpkins of fall. In their place were wreaths and snowflakes. The corners of the windows and door had been made to look as if they were frosted over, adding to the cozy aura the café radiated.

Kitty pushed the door open and made a beeline for the counter where Bobby was standing. "Hi," he said enthusiastically. "Before you say anything, I have two words for you. Gingerbread latte."

She made a face. "That sounds disgusting," she said. "I have something to show you." Kitty handed over the piece of paper to him with a flourish. Bobby took it and read it. Kitty saw his face light up in understanding.

Bobby came out from behind the counter and wrapped her in a tight hug. "That's so great. Congratulations, Kitty."

"Thanks," she answered. The smile she'd had all afternoon made its way back to her face. Bobby went back behind the counter to return the paper to her. Kitty followed after him as far as she dared, which put her right in front of Scott's office door. The older man arched an eyebrow but said nothing. Bobby returned with Kitty's copy of the Acknowledgments.

Kitty took the sheet of paper back and tucked it into her bag carefully. She wondered idly if she had a picture frame…

"So I have good news, too," the blond boy told her. "Or news, at least."

The brunette's attention immediately went back to her friend. "Yeah? What's your good news?" she wanted to know.

"Today I registered to take the CPA exam. It's in May, just a few weeks before graduation."

"That is good," Kitty agreed.

Bobby nodded, smiling. He opened his mouth to say something when –

"Hey, guys," Clarice said in her quiet voice. She pointed at something above their heads. Kitty tilted her head back to see that there was a sprig of mistletoe hanging in the doorway of Scott's office…which they were standing under.

The brunette girl immediately felt her cheeks turn pink. She ducked her head and snuck a glance at Bobby. His face was red, too.

He caught her staring and met her gaze. "It _is_ tradition…" he pointed out.

"A _Christmas _tradition. I'm Jewish, remember?"

She'd thought about following Marie's "take a risk" advice in the few weeks since Thanksgiving. This might have been a good time to do so. But as much as Kitty wanted something to happen between them, she didn't want it to be because of a silly tradition. She wanted it to be _real._

It was Scott who settled the matter. "I don't care what you do on your own time, but do not kiss Kitty while you're still on the clock."

Bobby gave her a "what are you gonna do" sort of look and shrugged. "So what can I get you?" he asked, their awkward moment apparently forgotten.

"Something festive," Kitty decided. Bobby brightened and she suddenly remembered his earlier suggestion. "Except gingerbread," she added quickly. "I'll have a medium peppermint mocha."

"You're no fun," Bobby told her. "You want it to go, or are you gonna stick around for awhile?"

"I could be persuaded to stay," Kitty replied.

"I get off in half an hour," Bobby said. "If that's a good reason…"

The brunette nodded. "For here, then." She took out her wallet and counted out the $3.50 the cash register showed her the mocha cost.

Bobby started preparing her drink. While she waited, Kitty's gaze wandered over to the mistletoe. She wondered what it might have been like…and then quickly shook her head. _Not like that. Not because of some silly tradition that doesn't even apply to you_.

"Hey, earth to Kitty." Bobby's voice broke through her thoughts. She looked over at him, forcing a smile.

"Sorry, just daydreaming," Kitty said. Which was true, at least. She picked up her steaming mug and took a small sip. "This is actually warm," she teased.

Bobby grinned. "Well you know, sometimes I like to mix it up and actually do my job."

"If only you did that more often," Scott complained loudly. As usual, Bobby ignored his boss.

Kitty took her drink over to one of the couches. She sipped it for awhile, reveling in this happy afternoon she was having. Eventually she pulled out her notes for the exam she had in the morning, but Kitty only looked them over halfheartedly. The brunette was confident she was going to do well. And the last thing she wanted was to stress herself out and ruin the good day she was having.

True to his word, Bobby came over to join her about half an hour later. He opened his messenger bag and pulled out his laptop. Kitty watched curiously as he opened a site detailing what each of the four portions of the CPA test consisted of.

He stared at the page for a long time before groaning. Kitty frowned as Bobby buried his face in his hands. "Why did I do this to myself?" he asked her, voice muffled.

"Because it's what you went to school for?" Kitty ventured.

Bobby removed his face from his hands. "Oh yeah," he said, as if this had not occurred to him. "Why did I go to school for this?"

Kitty shook her head. "That I do not know." Bobby went back to hiding his face. Kitty patted his back in what she hoped was a comforting manner.

After awhile, the blond boy looked up again. "Maybe I'll just work here for the rest of my life," he said.

"Oh, I'm sure Scott would _love_ that," Kitty remarked dryly. She reached over and took his laptop so she could examine the site herself. After a moment, she found a link marked _Study Resources_. She clicked on it. "Look," Kitty said as the page came up. "A lot of these practice tests and study guides you can download. It won't be so bad."

Bobby leaned over so he could see what she was trying to show him. "You're right," he said. He took the computer back and studied the page carefully. He clicked on a few of the downloadable resources and saved them. "Believe it or not, I think I do remember most of what I've spent the last four years learning."

The brunette smiled. "I believe you," she replied.

He sighed and opened one of the study guides he had just saved. He started going through it. Kitty went back to her own studying, though she knew she probably didn't really need to. They lapsed into a comfortable silence, each busy with their own topics.

Eventually, Kitty put her own materials away again. If she looked at her notes any longer, she was going to forget all of it. Beside her, Bobby was frowning at the laptop screen again.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm just wondering again why I did this," Bobby answered.

Kitty leaned over him and pulled the site up again. "Look at this," she said, pointing. "Most of this is multiple choice. And if you remember as much of it as you think you do, you'll be okay. You have five months to prepare. You have to pace yourself. Start with the easier stuff and work your way up."

"I guess you probably know what you're talking about," he mused.

"I do," Kitty agreed with a small smile. "Come on, I'll help you," she offered.

He looked at her gratefully. "Yeah?"

She nodded. "Of course."

Little by little they went through the contents of the test. Kitty opened a document and made a list of all the material he should brush up on, assigning each one a number from 1 to 10. When she was finished, she showed it to the blond boy.

"I have been doing it wrong all these years," Bobby announced after looking it over. "Is this really how you study for all of your classes?" Kitty nodded. Bobby just stared at her, looking amazed.

Right was it was getting awkward, Scott appeared. "We're closing," he said.

Kitty could hardly believe it was already so late. Sure enough, the tiny clock in the corner of the computer screen said 8:58 p.m. The sky had gotten dark around them and the café had emptied without either of them noticing.

"But Kitty's helping me study," Bobby offered. "You know, so I can actually use my degree and get a job that's not _here_."

Scott hesitated. "Well…" he said. He was clearly trying to weigh the pros and cons of letting them stay. "Do you have your key?" he asked Bobby. The blond boy nodded. "And you'll turn off the lights and set the alarm when you leave?" Bobby nodded again. "Kitty, will you actually make sure he does everything he says he's going to do?"

Kitty smiled. "Sure." Beside her, Bobby made a noise of disbelief.

"Okay," Scott conceded. "Do not make a mess. I'll know it was you." He turned on his heel and walked to the door. "Goodnight," the manager called over his shoulder.

The petite brunette watched him go. "He's going to be a nervous wreck the rest of the night," she observed.

"Probably," Bobby agreed. "But can you believe he doesn't trust me after how long I've worked here? Wait, on second thought, maybe don't answer that."

Kitty laughed, shaking her head. "I won't," she promised. "Do you maybe want to actually study something now? You know, since that's what you told Scott we were doing?"

He let out a dramatic sigh, but he clicked on one of the practice tests obediently. There was silence again for awhile as Bobby went through the multiple choice questions. It announced a score – 89 – at the end.

"See, that's not bad," Kitty said encouragingly. "And now between this test and the list we made you have a good idea of what you'll need to study the most."

"Ah, but this was just the multiple choice. There are still the simulations and the written portions," Bobby pointed out. He saved the page with his score before opening a new tab and going to Google. He angled the laptop away from her as he typed something in. "Here's a cheerful statistic," Bobby remarked. "Last year, less than half of the people who were taking the CPA exam for the first time actually passed."

Kitty narrowed her eyes. "You're selling yourself short," she told him seriously. "And doing that is going to set you up for failure."

"Yeah?"

She nodded, expression firm. "Yeah." Kitty reached over and took the computer again. She thought for a moment, trying to get the wording correct. When she had, she hit enter and showed him what came up. "Look at all this advice you can follow from people who have done this. Okay? You're going to be fine."

He moved closer to her, peering at the screen over her shoulder. "All these people say the same things you did," Bobby observed. "Start with the basics…give yourself plenty of time…"

Kitty grinned. "I told you I knew what I was talking about," she said. "I know you know this stuff." Kitty bumped him playfully. "You might not be able to make coffee, but you know how to do _this_."

"Low blow," Bobby muttered. But he smiled at her briefly and she knew they were okay. He didn't look away from her even after his smile faded. "Thank you. Your support means a lot," he told her quietly.

"That's why I'm here," Kitty told him.

Bobby turned the laptop off. "I'm tired of thinking for tonight," he told her. She nodded sympathetically. She didn't envy him, to be honest. He put the computer in his bag and leaned against her heavily, his cheek pressed against her hair.

"Comfortable?" Kitty asked, amused.

"Not really," he said. "It would be better if you were taller."

Kitty pushed him away. "You don't get to sleep on me if you're going to complain about my height," she said.

He looked at her with puppy dog eyes. Kitty felt her resolve soften. She tucked her feet under her so that she was a bit taller. "Better?" she asked as he settled against her once more. She felt him nod against her shoulder.

"How are your finals going?" Bobby questioned after awhile.

"Good," Kitty answered without hesitation. She felt a lot more confident about them than she had about her midterms two months ago. "And yours?"

The blond boy sighed again. "They'll look better to me after I sit for the CPA exam," he said. "Hey, have you talked to your mom?"

"No," Kitty said, a little sadly. It was hard, but Bobby had been right on Thanksgiving. She hadn't deserved that kind of treatment. So she hadn't made any attempt to talk to either of her parents. When they wanted to act like adults, she'd be waiting.

Bobby lifted his head from her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Kitty," he told her, sounding sincere. "Believe me, I know how that is."

Kitty realized that she'd never heard him talk about his family. His "work family" sure, but not his actual family. But now was not the time to bring it up. Instead she said softly, "It's late."

He fished his phone from his pocket. "Yeah, it is," he replied. "It's after 11:00. And I know we both have finals in the morning." Bobby stood and offered her a hand, which she accepted. He pulled her to her feet easily. "If you wait for me to lock up here, I'll walk you home."

Kitty shook her head. "You don't have to do that." But even as she said the words, she had a feeling Bobby wasn't going to take no for an answer.

He was nice about it, at least. "I know you can take care of yourself," he said. "But it's kind of late and it's cold and dark. _I'll_ feel better if I know you get home safely." His blue eyes were serious as he looked down at her.

"Okay," she agreed, mostly because she thought it was sweet that he wanted to take care of her.

"Get your stuff and follow me."

She did as she was told, bundling herself into her winter coat and slinging her bag over her shoulder. Bobby did the same.

The brunette followed at his heels as he crossed the shop to Scott's office. He turned off the lights. "Okay Kitty, once I put the alarm code in, we'll have exactly one minute to get out of the building before it goes off." She could just make out Bobby's grin in the darkness. "This is my favorite part of closing."

"Of course it is," Kitty said.

There was a panel on the wall under the light switch. Bobby held his phone out so he could see and swiftly punched in a four digit code. He shoved his phone in his pocket and grabbed Kitty's hand, his fingers curling through hers. The blond boy wove expertly through the coffee shop, tugging her in his wake.

They made it out with about ten seconds to spare. With his free hand, Bobby fit his key into the lock on the door and turned it. He smiled at her as he put the key away. "Told you it was fun," he said.

"It was a little fun," Kitty admitted. He still hadn't let go of her hand.

Bobby seemed to realize this as well. He released her. "You lead the way."

They walked to her apartment in silence. Like before, it was not an awkward silence but a comfortable one.

"Nice place," Bobby remarked when Kitty pointed out her building. Kitty pushed open the door to the lobby and led the way up to the third floor where her apartment was.

"I'd invite you in…" Kitty began as they came to her door.

"Some other time," Bobby agreed.

They continued to linger outside Kitty's door. She didn't want to say goodnight yet. "Thank you for this, Bobby," she told him. "You're sweet."

Bobby gave her _that_ smile, the one that made her heart beat faster. He didn't say anything though. He looked like he was thinking about something. The longer the silence lasted, the weirder it was.

"What is it?" Kitty asked when she couldn't stand it anymore.

"It's just…earlier, with the mistletoe at the café…"

With everything else that had happened that day, Kitty had almost forgotten. "What about it?" she asked, curious.

"I wanted to," Bobby answered. "Not in front of everyone like that, but I wanted to."

Kitty could hardly believe what she was hearing. Bobby…had feelings for her? It looked like Marie had been right after all.

"So can I?"

She grinned at him now. "Do you always ask a girl's permission before you kiss her?"

"Not usually," the blond boy admitted, "but I wanted to make sure I wasn't misreading anything."

"You're not," Kitty whispered.

He smiled and angled his head down towards hers. Their lips met in a sweet, gentle kiss. Bobby's hands slid onto her hips, pulling her closer.

When they broke apart, both had grins on their faces. "That was nice," Kitty said, feeling shy. "I'll, um, see you tomorrow, I guess."

"Definitely," Bobby agreed. "I'll have your usual ready?"

Kitty stood on her tiptoes to kiss him again. "You know what," she said after breaking the kiss, "why don't you surprise me?"


End file.
